Object-processing method and device

ABSTRACT

An object-processing method applies a specific process to an object to be processed by connecting a power source to the object to be processed.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to object-processing method and device.

Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-049818,filed Mar. 16, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein byreference.

When molding an object made of metal through forging as a type ofplastic working method, as is well known, the object deforms andgenerates heat due to the action of an external force. This heatgeneration of the object may cause a change (transformation) of thestructure (for example, crystal structure) of the object and maydeteriorate the mechanical properties of the object.

For example, Patent Document 1 shown below discloses a method ofmanufacturing a forged member, in which a blank (object) made of steelis cooled (rapidly cooled) while an external force is applied to theblank during the forging. That is, in this manufacturing method, at thesame time as the blank is pressed with a mold to be forged into apredetermined shape, the blank is rapidly cooled by a cooling meansprovided in the mold, and forging, quenching and tempering of the blankare simultaneously performed.

Document of Related Art Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, FirstPublication No. 2015-188927

SUMMARY Technical Problem

In the above conventional technique, since the blank (object) is cooledfrom the outside using the cooling means provided in the mold, it isdifficult to cool the inside of the object to the same degree as theouter portion thereof due to the heat capacity of the object. Thisbecomes further remarkable as the thickness (heat capacity) of theobject increases. Therefore, in the conventional technique, it isdifficult to maintain the inside structure of the object in the samedegree as that of the outer portion.

The present disclosure is made in view of the above circumstances, andan object thereof is to further limit the structural change anddeformation of an object compared with the conventional technique or tomore appropriately cool the object.

Solution to Problem

In order to obtain the above object, an object-processing method of afirst aspect of the present disclosure includes: applying a specificprocess to an object to be processed by connecting a power source to theobject to be processed.

In the first aspect of the present disclosure, the specific process maybe a cooling process on the object to be processed.

In the first aspect of the present disclosure, the specific process maybe a transformation-limiting process on a structure of the object to beprocessed.

In the first aspect of the present disclosure, the power source maycause free electrons in the object to be processed to be emitted to theoutside by being connected to the object to be processed.

In the first aspect of the present disclosure, the power source maycollect the free electrons emitted to the outside from the object to beprocessed.

In the first aspect of the present disclosure, at the time the powersource is connected to the object to be processed, no other power sourcethat supplies an electric current to the object to be processed has tobe connected to the object to be processed.

In the first aspect of the present disclosure, the object to beprocessed may be a metal body that generates heat by forging, and thespecific process may be applied to the metal body heated before forging,the metal body generating heat during forging, or the metal body thathas generated heat by forging.

In addition, an object-processing device of a second aspect of thepresent disclosure includes: a power source; and an electrode that isconnected to the power source and comes into contact with an object tobe processed.

In the second aspect of the present disclosure, the power source may beconfigured to cause free electrons in the object to be processed to beemitted to the outside by being connected to the object to be processedthrough the electrode.

In the second aspect of the present disclosure, the power source may beconfigured to collect the free electrons emitted to the outside from theobject to be processed.

In the second aspect of the present disclosure, no other power sourcethat supplies an electric current to the object to be processed has tobe provided.

In the second aspect of the present disclosure, the object to beprocessed may be a metal body heated before forging, a metal bodygenerating heat during forging, or a metal body that has generated heatby forging.

Effects

According to the present disclosure, since the power source is connectedto the object to be processed, it is possible to further limit thestructural change and deformation of the object to be processed (object)compared with the conventional technique or to more appropriately coolthe object to be processed.

In addition, if the object to be processed is a metal material (metalbody) that generates heat by forging, since electrons are removed fromthe metal material by connecting the power source to the metal materialbefore forging, it is possible to forge the metal material at a lowertemperature than that of a metal material from which electrons have notbeen removed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a forgedproduct-cooling device of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a forging method of the embodimentof the present disclosure, part (a) is a cross-sectional view showing afirst state of a forging device, and part (b) is a cross-sectional viewshowing a second state of the forging device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a forged product of the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, part (a) is a cross-sectional view, and part (b)is a partially enlarged side view.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a method of cooling the forgedproduct of the embodiment of the present disclosure, in which part (a)is a cross-sectional view of the forging device, and part (b) is a planview of the forging device.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a cooling effect of the forged product of theembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a base material of a modification ofthe embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

First, a forged product-cooling device R of this embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1. The forged product-cooling device Ris a device that applies a cooling process to a forged product X and asshown in FIG. 1, includes electrodes 1, a first switch 2, a firstresistor 3, a capacitor block 4, a second switch 5, a third switch 6, asecond resistor 7, a third resistor 8, a fourth switch 9, a fifth switch10, a DC power supply 11, a controller 12 and an operation unit 13. Notethat among these components, the capacitor block 4 corresponds to apower source of the present disclosure. In addition, in the forgedproduct-cooling device R of this embodiment, no other power source isprovided that supplies an electric current to the forged product X byapplying a voltage thereto, that is, that supplies electrons to theforged product X.

Note that the forged product-cooling device R corresponds to anobject-processing device of the present disclosure. In addition, theabove forged product X corresponds to an object to be processed (object)of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the cooling process and atransformation-limiting process that the forged product-cooling device Rapplies to the forged product X correspond to a specific process of thepresent disclosure.

The forged product X is made of a predetermined metal material and is,for example, a prototype material of a blisk (product). As is wellknown, a blisk is a substantially circular disk-shaped rotating body inwhich a rotor disk and a blade of a turbo machine are integrally molded,and is, for example, a component of a compressor or/and a turbine of agas turbine. Such a blisk is manufactured as a final product by cuttinga prototype material obtained through plastic deformation working suchas forging. Note that when the forged product X is a blisk, the abovemetal material is, for example, a titanium alloy having a predeterminedcomposition.

The forged product-cooling device R of this embodiment is a device thatapplies the cooling process to the forged product X by connecting thepower source to the forged product X. Among the components of the forgedproduct-cooling device R, the electrode 1 is a needle-shaped terminalconnected to one terminal of the first switch 2 through an electric wire(power line) and is made of metal having a relatively low electricalresistance such as platinum (Pt).

As shown in the diagram, the electrode 1 is disposed on the forgedproduct X in a state of being electrically connected to the forgedproduct X, for example, in a state of being in contact with the surfaceof the forged product X. The electrode 1 is electrically connected toone terminal of the first switch 2 through a flexible electric wire.Therefore, it is possible to easily dispose the electrode in a suitableplace of the forged product X according to the shape, attitude and thelike of the forged product X. Note that one or a plurality of electrodes1 are provided, and an appropriately needed number of the electrodes 1are connected to the surface of the forged product X according to theshape, attitude and the like of the forged product X.

The first switch 2 is an open/close switch that is controlled by thecontroller 12, one terminal of the first switch 2 is connected to eachelectrode 1, and the other terminal of the first switch 2 is connectedto one end of the first resistor 3 and one end of the third resistor 8.The first resistor 3 has a predetermined resistance value (for example,100Ω), one end of the first resistor 3 is connected to the otherterminal of the first switch 2 and one end of the third resistor 8, andthe other end of the first resistor 3 is connected to one end of thecapacitor block 4.

The capacitor block 4 is a two-terminal circuit in which a plurality ofcapacitors each having a predetermined electrostatic capacity (forexample, 0.1 μF) are connected in parallel, one end of the capacitorblock 4 is connected to the other end of the first resistor 3, and theother end of the capacitor block 4 is connected to one terminal of thesecond switch 5. As will be described later, the capacitor block 4 isconfigured to cause free electrons in the forged product X to be emittedto the outside by being electrically connected to the forged product Xthrough the electrode 1 and to collect the free electrons emitted to theoutside from the forged product X. The second switch 5 is an open/closeswitch that is controlled by the controller 12, one terminal of thesecond switch 5 is connected to the other end of the capacitor block 4,and the other terminal of the second switch 5 is connected to oneterminal of the third switch 6, the other terminal of the fourth switch9, and the negative terminal of the DC power supply 11.

The third switch 6 is an open/close switch that is controlled by thecontroller 12, one terminal of the third switch 6 is connected to theother terminal of the second switch 5, the other terminal of the fourthswitch 9 and the negative terminal of the DC power supply 11, and theother terminal of the third switch 6 is connected to one end of thesecond resistor 7. The second resistor 7 has a predetermined resistancevalue (for example, 100Ω), one end of the second resistor 7 is connectedto the other terminal of the third switch 6, and the other end of thesecond resistor 7 is grounded.

The third resistor 8 has a predetermined resistance value (for example,10Ω), one end of the third resistor 8 is connected to the other terminalof the first switch 2 and one end of the first resistor 3, and the otherend of the third resistor 8 is connected to one terminal of the fourthswitch 9 and one terminal of the fifth switch 10. The fourth switch 9 isan open/close switch that is controlled by the controller 12, oneterminal of the fourth switch 9 is connected to the other end of thethird resistor 8 and one terminal of the fifth switch 10, and the otherterminal of the fourth switch 9 is connected to the other terminal ofthe second switch 5, one terminal of the third switch 6 and the negativeterminal of the DC power supply 11.

The fifth switch 10 is an open/close switch that is controlled by thecontroller 12, one terminal of the fifth switch 10 is connected to theother end of the third resistor 8 and one terminal of the fourth switch9, and the other terminal of the fifth switch 10 is connected to thepositive terminal of the DC power supply 11. The DC power supply 11 is apower supply that generates a predetermined DC voltage (for example, 16V), the positive terminal of the DC power supply 11 is connected to theother terminal of the fifth switch 10, and the negative terminal of theDC power supply 11 is connected to the other terminal of the secondswitch 5, one terminal of the third switch 6 and the other terminal ofthe fourth switch 9.

The controller 12 is a device that controls the first to fifth switches2, 5, 6, 9 and 10 based on operation signals input from the operationunit 13. The controller 12 is a logic circuit or a software controldevice that generates opening/closing control signals for each of thefirst to fifth switches 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10 based on the operationsignals. In a case where the controller 12 is a software control device,the controller 12 includes a central processing unit (CPU), variousstorage devices, and an input/output device. The controller 12 controlsthe operations of the first to fifth switches 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10 intodesired states by appropriately generating the opening/closing controlsignals based on the operation signals.

The operation unit 13 is a device that receives operation instructionsof a manager in charge of the forged product-cooling device R and is,for example, one or a plurality of operation buttons. The operation unit13 outputs operation signals according to the operation instructions tothe controller 12.

Next, a forging device T of this embodiment will be described withreference to part (a) of FIG. 2. The forging device T includes a lowermold A, an upper mold B and a pressing upper mold C. The lower mold A isa substantially circular disk-shaped member in which a cylindricalprotruding part a is provided on a center part of one surface thereof,and includes a first pressing surface b (flat surface) close to thecenter part and a second pressing surface c (wave-shaped surface) closeto an outer peripheral part of the lower mold A. The first pressingsurface b is formed in a flat shape, and the second pressing surface cis formed in a wave shape. In addition, the lower mold A includes acylindrical surface (an inner cylindrical surface d), which is aperipheral surface of the protruding part a and is in contactorthogonally with the first pressing surface b (flat surface). The innercylindrical surface d is an outer peripheral surface of the protrudingpart a. Note that in parts (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, a side where the lowermold A is positioned is referred to as a lower side, and a side wherethe pressing upper mold C is positioned is referred to as an upper side.

The upper mold B is a ring-shaped member in which a cavity is providedin a center part thereof, and includes a third pressing surface e(wave-shaped surface) facing the second pressing surface c (wave-shapedsurface) and an outer cylindrical surface f facing the inner cylindricalsurface d. The third pressing surface e is formed in a wave shape. Theouter cylindrical surface f is an inner peripheral surface of the uppermold B. In the upper mold B, the third pressing surface e faces thesecond pressing surface c of the lower mold A at a first distance La,and the outer cylindrical surface f faces the inner cylindrical surfaced at a second distance Lb. A space disposed between the innercylindrical surface d of the lower mold A and the outer cylindricalsurface f of the upper mold B is a base material accommodation space Kbthat accommodates a base material Xa (described below), and a spacedisposed between the second pressing surface c and the third pressingsurface e is an extrusion space Ko.

Note that a reference sign Xa in part (a) of FIG. 2 represents a basematerial of the forged product X described above and is formed in a ringshape. The base material Xa is a ring-shaped metal member, in which thedifference (width) between the cylindrical inner peripheral surface andthe cylindrical outer peripheral surface is set to be slightly less thanthe second distance Lb, and the difference (thickness) between both endsurfaces (upper surface and lower surface) parallel to each other is setto a predetermined dimension.

The pressing upper mold C is a substantially circular disk-shaped memberin which an annular protruding part g is provided on a peripheral edgeof one surface thereof. In the pressing upper mold C, the end surface(flat surface, lower surface) of the protruding part g is a pressingsurface h that comes into contact with and presses the upper surface(one end surface) of the base material Xa. The pressing upper mold C issupported by a pressing mechanism (not shown) and moves up and down bythe pressing device to press the upper surface of the base material Xadownward.

Next, a method of manufacturing the forged product X using the forgedproduct-cooling device R and the forging device T will be described indetail with reference to part (b) of FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3 to 5 in additionto part (a) of FIG. 2. This manufacturing method includes a coolingmethod and a transformation-limiting method of the forged product X thatwill be described later. Note that the cooling method and thetransformation-limiting method correspond to an object-processing methodof the present disclosure.

A manufacturing step of the forged product X using the forging device Tincludes a forging step, a cooling step (transformation-limiting step),and a working step. Among these steps, the cooling step(transformation-limiting step) corresponds to the cooling method and thetransformation-limiting method of this embodiment. First, in the forgingstep, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 2, the base material Xa isaccommodated in the base material accommodation space Kb. Then, as shownin part (b) of FIG. 2, the pressing upper mold C is lowered, thereby thebase material Xa is squashed in the up-down direction, and part of thebase material Xa is extruded into the extrusion space Ko.

By such pressing of the pressing upper mold C, as shown in parts (a) and(b) of FIG. 3, the base material Xa is molded into the forged product X(the prototype material of the blisk) including a ring-shaped rotor diskx1 and a blade x2 positioned on the radially outer side of the rotordisk x1. The rotor disk x1 is a portion whose thickness is significantlygreater than that of the blade x2, and the blade x2 is a portion havinga wave shape and being relatively thin. In addition, in the working stepas a post-step of the cooling step described later, the wave-shapedblade x2 of the forged product X is worked and thereby is finished intoa plurality of blades annularly arranged on the radially outer side ofthe rotor disk x1 at predetermined intervals.

In the forging step of the base material Xa, the base material Xadeforms while generating heat. That is, the forged product X is a metalbody that generates heat due to the action of an external force by thepressing upper mold C, and for example, the temperature thereofincreases from 950° C. before forging up to about 1100° C. Since such ahigh temperature of the forged product X may transform the structure(crystal structure) of the forged product X, the forged product X has tobe cooled (rapidly cooled).

Due to such a necessity, the following cooling step is performed in thisembodiment. Although the details will be described later, the coolingstep also corresponds to a transformation-limiting step of limitingtransformation of the structure of the forged product X. In the coolingstep (transformation-limiting step), as shown in part (a) of FIG. 4,each of the electrodes 1 of the forged product-cooling device R isbrought into contact with the upper surface of the rotor disk x1,thereby connecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) to the forgedproduct X.

More specifically, as shown in, for example, part (b) of FIG. 4, theelectrodes 1 are brought into contact with four points P1 to P4 havingan angular relationship at 90° between points adjacent to each otheraround the center O on the upper surface of the ring-shaped rotor diskx1. These four points P1 to P4 are positions included in the surface ofthe rotor disk x1 whose thickness is greater than that of the blade x2and corresponding to a portion having the most intense internal heatgeneration among the portions (the rotor disk x1 and the blade x2) ofthe forged product X.

In this state, the controller 12 of the forged product-cooling device Rfirst sets the second switch 5 and the fifth switch 10 to the closedstate and sets the first switch 2, the third switch 6 and the fourthswitch 9 to the opened state (first setting state). When the first stateis continued for a predetermined time, each capacitor of the capacitorblock 4 is gradually charged by the DC power supply 11 and becomes afully charged state. That is, in the capacitor block 4, one end ispositively charged, the other end is negatively charged, and the voltagebetween both ends (voltage between two terminals) becomes a voltageclose to the output voltage (for example, 16 V) of the DC power supply11.

In the first setting state, the controller 12 changes the setting of thefifth switch 10 from the closed state into the opened state and changesthe settings of the first switch 2 and the third switch 6 from theopened state into the closed state (second setting state). That is, inthe capacitor block 4, one end is connected to each of the electrodes 1through the first switch 2 and the first resistor 3, and the other endis grounded through the second switch 5, the third switch 6 and thesecond resistor 7. In the second setting state, although a slightvoltage drop occurs in the first resistor 3 and the second resistor 7,the forged product X is applied with a voltage close to the voltagebetween the terminals of the capacitor block 4. At this time, thecapacitor block 4 is connected to the forged product X through theelectrodes 1 to cause free electrons in the forged product X to beemitted to the outside and to collect the free electrons emitted fromthe forged product X to the outside.

Then, when the controller 12 continues the second setting state for apredetermined time, the controller 12 changes the setting of the secondswitch 5 from the closed state into the opened state and changes thesetting of the fourth switch 9 from the opened state into the closedstate (third setting state). In the third setting state, each electrode1 is grounded through the first switch 2, the third resistor 8, thefourth switch 9, the third switch 6 and the second resistor 7.

Then, when the controller 12 continues the third setting state for apredetermined time, the controller 12 changes the setting of the secondswitch 5 from the opened state into the closed state (fourth settingstate). That is, in the fourth setting state, one end of the capacitorblock 4 is grounded through the first resistor 3, the third resistor 8,the fourth switch 9, the third switch 6 and the second resistor 7, andthe other end of the capacitor block 4 is grounded through the secondswitch 5, the third switch 6 and the second resistor 7. When the fourthsetting state has been continued for a predetermined time, the electriccharge charged in the capacitor block 4 is sufficiently discharged.Then, when the controller 12 continues the fourth setting state for apredetermined time, the controller 12 repeats the above first to fourthsetting states a predetermined number of times.

By connecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) by the forgedproduct-cooling device R a predetermined number of times, free electronsin the forged product X (metal material) are collected by the outside ofthe forged product X, that is, the capacitor block 4 (power source)through each electrode 1 and the like. Note that in this embodiment, atthe time the capacitor block 4 is connected to the forged product X, noother power source that applies a voltage to the forged product X tosupply an electric current thereto, that is, that supplies electrons tothe forged product X is connected thereto.

Here, since the forged product X is held by the forging device T and hasan extremely high electrical resistance due to a high temperature stateof about 700° C. to 1100° C., the amount of electrons (for example, freeelectrons in the electrodes 1) to be supplied from the electrodes 1 tothe forged product X is extremely small Therefore, when the capacitorblock 4 (power source) is connected to the forged product X by theforged product-cooling device R, free electrons in the forged product Xare exclusively collected in the capacitor block 4 (power source).

When such connection of the capacitor block 4 (power source) isperformed one or a plurality of times, the forged product X is cooled asshown in the graph (characteristic diagram) of FIG. 5. As is well known,heat generation in metal is caused by the motion of free electrons inaddition to the vibration of constituent atoms. Among the constituentatoms and the free electrons, when the free electrons are emitted to theoutside of the forged product X, one of the causes of heat iseliminated, so that the temperature of the forged product X decreases.Note that FIG. 5 shows experimental results of the cooling effect byconnecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) and shows a case ofusing the DC power supply 11 having an output voltage of 16 V.

In this experiment, a change in the internal temperature of the forgedproduct X when the forged product X was heated up to 800° C. in a vacuumatmosphere and then was slowly cooled was measured in each case of acase where the capacitor block 4 (power source) was connected to theforged product X (shown by a broken line and a dashed and double dottedline) and in a case where the capacitor block 4 (power source) was notconnected (shown by a solid line). In addition, in this experiment, achange in the internal temperature of the forged product X was checkedin each case of a case where the capacitor block 4 (power source) wasconnected only once (shown by the broken line) and in a case where thecapacitor block 4 was connected a plurality of times (shown by thedashed and double dotted line). In a case where the capacitor block 4was connected to the forged product X only once, the electrodes 1 werebrought into contact with the forged product X only once. In a casewhere the capacitor block 4 was connected to the forged product X aplurality of times, contact and separation of the electrodes 1 withrespect to the forged product X were repeated.

As shown in FIG. 5, it was confirmed that when the cooling voltage isconnected only once, a temperature drop of 10° C. or more can beobtained as compared with a case of performing only slow cooling, andwhen the capacitor block 4 (power source) is connected a plurality oftimes, a temperature drop of about 30° C. can be obtained as comparedwith a case of performing only slow cooling. Furthermore, if a metal hasa temperature of about 1100° C., since the kinetic energy of freeelectrons is large, it can be expected that the metal is cooled to about950° C. by causing the free electrons to be emitted to the outside.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to further limit thestructural change of the forged product X compared with the conventionaltechnique because the forged product X can be more rapidly cooled byconnecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) than a case of only theconventional slow cooling. Note that in this embodiment, it can beunderstood that the structural change of the forged product X is notlimited by cooling due to emission of free electrons from the forgedproduct X but is limited by limiting interaction between structures(crystals) and/or atoms configuring the forged product X due to emissionof free electrons from the forged product X.

That is, although it is necessary to further study whether the directaction of connecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) to the forgedproduct X relates to the cooling based on emission of free electronsfrom the forged product X, the limitation of interaction betweenstructures (crystals) or/and atoms, or other factors, as shown in FIG.5, connecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) to the forged productX provides an effect of more rapidly cooling the forged product X thanconventional cooling. Therefore, in this embodiment, the step ofconnecting the capacitor block 4 (power source) to the forged product Xcorresponds to at least the cooling process of the forged product X andthe transformation-limiting process of the structure of the forgedproduct X.

Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment,and it is conceivable that the following modifications be adopted.

(1) In the above embodiment, the electrodes 1 are arranged at the fourpoints P1 to P4 as shown in part (b) of FIG. 4, but the presentdisclosure is not limited to this. Various configurations of arrangementof the electrodes 1 on the forged product X may be adopted depending onthe shape, size and the like of the forged product X. In addition, inthe above embodiment, the needle-shaped electrode 1 is adopted, but theshape of the electrode 1 is not limited to this. For example, aplate-shaped electrode may be adopted in order to increase the contactarea between the electrode and the forged product X. Furthermore, theabove embodiment shows that the electrode 1 is made of platinum, but thematerial of the electrode 1 is not limited to platinum.

(2) In the above embodiment, the cooling step (transformation-limitingstep) is performed after the forging step, but the present disclosure isnot limited to this. For example, the cooling step(transformation-limiting step) may be performed during the forging step.That is, the electrode 1 may be brought into contact with the basematerial Xa during the forging step before the forged product X iscompleted, for example, be brought into contact with the base materialXa generating heat during forging using the pressing upper mold C, andthe capacitor block 4 (power source) may be connected to the basematerial Xa, whereby the base material Xa may be cooled. When the powersource is connected to the base material Xa generating heat duringforging, it is possible to effectively remove high-energy electronsgenerated by the heat generation from the base material Xa.

In addition, the electrode 1 may be brought into contact with the basematerial Xa heated before forging to connect the capacitor block 4(power source) to the base material Xa. When the power source isconnected to the base material Xa heated before forging, it is possibleto remove electrons from the base material Xa in advance and to forgethe base material Xa at a lower temperature by 20° C. to 30° C. than abase material (metal material) from which electrons have not beenremoved. The reason for this is considered to be because the lattices ofatomic nuclei have the energy that electrons have, and the deformationresistance decreases even at the same temperature.

The cooling step (transformation-limiting step) may be performed at anappropriate timing according to the temperature of the base material Xa.If the temperature has become too low, it may be reheated to atemperature suitable for forging in an insulation state where noelectrons enter. After heating the base material Xa, the base materialXa may be cooled by connecting the power source thereto, and then afterreheating it in the insulation state, forging may be performed thereon.

(3) In the above embodiment, the capacitor block 4 in which a pluralityof capacitors are connected in parallel is adopted, but the presentdisclosure is not limited to this. For example, various secondarybatteries may be adopted therefor. In addition, in the above embodiment,a single capacitor block 4 is used, but a plurality of capacitor blocks4 may be used. For example, the capacitor block 4 may be connected tothe forged product X a plurality of times by sequentially connecting aplurality of capacitor blocks 4 to the electrode 1 in a predeterminedorder.

(4) Although the output voltage of the DC power supply 11 was set to 16V in the experimental results shown in FIG. 5, the present disclosure isnot limited to this. That is, the voltage between the terminals of thecapacitor block 4 is not limited to a voltage in the vicinity of 16 V,and may be appropriately set such that, for example, the coolingtemperature of the forged product X becomes maximum. In addition,although the capacitor block 4 is used in the above embodiment, anotherpower source may be adopted as long as the power source can cause freeelectrons in the forged product X to be emitted to the outside, that is,the power source can apply an electric field having a direction in whichfree electrons in the forged product X are emitted to the outside. Thatis, it is only necessary for the power source of the present disclosureto be configured to cause free electrons in the forged product X to beemitted to the outside, and the power source does not have to collectthe free electrons emitted from the forged product X to the outside.

(5) In the above embodiment, the forged product-cooling device R isadopted including the electrodes 1, the first switch 2, the firstresistor 3, the capacitor block 4, the second switch 5, the third switch6, the second resistor 7, the third resistor 8, the fourth switch 9, thefifth switch 10, the DC power supply 11, the controller 12 and theoperation unit 13, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.The configuration of the forged product-cooling device R is just anexample, and other configurations may be adopted.

(6) In the above embodiment, the forged product X is manufactured fromthe base material Xa made of a predetermined metal material, but thepresent disclosure is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG.6, the surface of a base material x3 made of a predetermined metalmaterial may be provided with an insulation layer x4, and a basematerial Xb from which electrons have been removed may be molded byforging. That is, as a pretreatment applied before connecting thecapacitor block 4 by the forged product-cooling device R, the surface ofthe forged product X (object to be processed) may be subjected toinsulation treatment. For example, the base material x3 may be appliedwith a glass coating, to provide the surface of the base material x3with the insulation layer x4.

(7) Although the above embodiment relates to a case where the presentdisclosure is applied to the limitation of the structural change of theforged product X, the application of the present disclosure is notlimited to this. The present disclosure is applicable to various metalobjects having free electrons thereinside. In addition, since theessential means of the present disclosure is to connect the power sourceto an object to be processed (object), the resulting specific process isnot limited to the cooling of the object to be processed (object) or thelimitation of interaction between the structures thereof.

As the specific process of the present disclosure, for example, thecooling process of cutting tools can be considered. Although a cuttingtool has a high temperature due to friction with a material to be cut,it is possible to easily cool the cutting tool by connecting the cuttingtool to the power source. That is, it is possible to easily limitdeterioration in the hardness or the like of the cutting tool due to anincrease in temperature.

In addition, as the specific process of the present disclosure, forexample, the solution treatment of metal materials can be considered. Ametal material such as nickel alloys and titanium alloys is increased instrength through densifying the structure thereof by increasing thetemperature thereof to be high and then rapidly cooling, and it ispossible to easily and rapidly cool the metal material by connecting thepower source to the metal material. In the conventional method, when themetal material is heated to a high temperature and then rapidly cooled,the temperature difference between the surface and the inside of themetal material may increase, and a large residual stress may begenerated, which may deform the metal material. On the other hand,according to the present disclosure, it is possible to rapidly cool theentire body including the inside of the metal material while reducingthe temperature difference between the surface and the inside, and thusto perform a high quality solution treatment.

In addition, it is conceivable that a metal material heated for thesolution treatment be connected with the power source, electrons beremoved from the metal material in advance, and thereafter anothercooling means rapidly cool the metal material. Even in this case, it ispossible to reduce the residual stress and to limit the deformation ofthe metal material.

(8) In the above embodiment, the first to fourth setting states arerepeated a predetermined number of times, but the present disclosure isnot limited to this. For example, the third and fourth setting statesmay be omitted, and the first and second setting states may be repeateda predetermined number of times.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present disclosure can be used, for example, to further limit thestructural change or deformation of an object made of metal comparedwith the conventional technique, or to more appropriately cool theobject.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   -   R forged product-cooling device (object-processing device)    -   T forging device    -   X forged product (object to be processed)    -   Xa, Xb base material    -   x1 rotor disk    -   x2 blade    -   x3 base material    -   x4 insulation layer    -   1 electrode    -   2 first switch    -   3 first resistor    -   4 capacitor block    -   5 second switch    -   6 third switch    -   7 second resistor    -   8 third resistor    -   9 fourth switch    -   10 fifth switch    -   11 DC power supply    -   12 controller    -   13 operation unit    -   A lower mold    -   B upper mold    -   C pressing upper mold    -   a protruding part    -   b first pressing surface    -   c second pressing surface    -   d inner cylindrical surface    -   e third pressing surface    -   f outer cylindrical surface    -   g protruding part    -   h pressing surface

1. An object-processing method, comprising: applying a specific processto an object to be processed by connecting a power source to the objectto be processed.
 2. The object-processing method according to claim 1,wherein the specific process is a cooling process on the object to beprocessed.
 3. The object-processing method according to claim 1, whereinthe specific process is a transformation-limiting process on a structureof the object to be processed.
 4. The object-processing method accordingto claim 1, wherein the power source causes free electrons in the objectto be processed to be emitted to outside by being connected to theobject to be processed.
 5. The object-processing method according toclaim 4, wherein the power source collects the free electrons emitted tooutside from the object to be processed.
 6. The object-processing methodaccording to claim 4, wherein at the time the power source is connectedto the object to be processed, no other power source that supplies anelectric current to the object to be processed is connected to theobject to be processed.
 7. The object-processing method according toclaim 1, wherein the object to be processed is a metal body thatgenerates heat by forging, and the specific process is applied to themetal body heated before forging, the metal body generating heat duringforging, or the metal body that has generated heat by forging.
 8. Anobject-processing device, comprising: a power source; and an electrodethat is connected to the power source and comes into contact with anobject to be processed.
 9. The object-processing device according toclaim 8, wherein the power source is configured to cause free electronsin the object to be processed to be emitted to outside by beingconnected to the object to be processed through the electrode.
 10. Theobject-processing device according to claim 9, wherein the power sourceis configured to collect the free electrons emitted to outside from theobject to be processed.
 11. The object-processing device according toclaim 9, wherein no other power source that supplies an electric currentto the object to be processed is provided.
 12. The object-processingdevice according to claim 8, wherein the object to be processed is ametal body heated before forging, a metal body generating heat duringforging, or a metal body that has generated heat by forging.